


His Never-Ending Warmth

by xo_thefirst



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Chansooweek, Gods!AU, M/M, Memories, Rebirth, fluff angst hope idk, idk whatever my chenbaek gods!au fic is set in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 18:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11190915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_thefirst/pseuds/xo_thefirst
Summary: Since the beginning of time, Kyungsoo has only ever really known Chanyeol and his warmth.





	His Never-Ending Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this is and i found out (or remembered) about chansooweek too late so i churned this out (a day late) and-- pls forgive me ;o;
> 
> this is set in the same weird universe as my chenbaek [golden butterflies](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9708248) story, which isn’t long, but this isn’t either so ;u;

The mountains are beautiful during this time of year. A thick layer of snow covers the earth and Kyungsoo smiles as he wiggles his toe in its softness, feels the stray snowflakes falling from the sky to land in his hair. It’s foreign for him to be so close to the cold, to relish in it, but it’s been a few long centuries. He needs the company after being alone for so long.

“Zitao says he won’t be reborn for another few decades,” Minseok calls out, emerging from the snow in the side of the mountain. His body materializes slowly, his robes following shortly after, and Kyungsoo snorts as he watches Minseok blink several times to clear his vision, shake his body to rid the extra stray snowflakes from his body. “Even after all this time, it still clings to me.”

“I’m sure it’s because you’re the one who brought the snow into existence,” Kyungsoo answers, corner of his lips quirking up when Minseok sends him a petulant stare. “I assume it feels a deep connection with you.”

Slowly, the snow moves along with the winds, creating a gentle flurry around them, and Minseok glares at the hundreds of snowflakes trying to make their way towards his face. “Stop that,” he orders and Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh when the gentle flurry dies down around them. “Welcome our guest.”

And Kyungsoo panics, eyes widening, as the breeze picks up speed again and coats him in a thin layer of snow. “Minseok,” he calls out in warning, feeling his face slowly freeze and the warmth from his body fading away one degree at a time. “Minseok!” Minseok’s laughter is high-pitched, a bit awkward, but then it causes the snow to fall off of Kyungsoo in clumps. It allows him to breathe easier, knowing he won’t be offending Minseok in his element in any way, and he glares at his friend when he can finally see him again.

“Thank you for the entertainment,” Minseok says, smiling his crooked smile at him, before it fades into something softer, something Kyungsoo can’t help but feel adoration grow in his chest for the man. “It’s been a while, Kyungsoo. Why have you come to visit?”

Kyungsoo wiggles his toes in the snow one last time, watches as the layers around him even out on their own. It reminds him of when Chanyeol first visited a mountain range, where the snow would melt underneath his feet within minutes, but for those first few where they welcome him, he indulged in its softness. He loved the snow even if they can’t handle each other. “To reminisce,” he answers softly, looking to his friend after. “I wanted to have some company.”

The smile Minseok gives him is sympathetic, much like the one Zitao gave him years ago, and Kyungsoo wishes time would hurry up, if only for a short while. “This is the longest Chanyeol’s been gone, yeah?” Minseok asks, extending a hand in his direction. Kyungsoo follows after it immediately, nodding, latching onto Minseok because he’s always been one of his favorites, who understood him when he couldn’t find Jongdae.

“Chanyeol loves the snow,” Kyungsoo murmurs, when he lets Minseok pull him in for a chilled hug. It contrasts nicely to his warmth and he hopes Minseok feels it too. “I miss him, Minseok.”

“I know you do,” Minseok whispers. His kiss is chapped, cold, on his temple, but Kyungsoo can feel Minseok’s own love radiating from him through it. “A few more decades and he’ll be reborn again.”

Kyungsoo wants to cry. He wants to wallow in sorrow, but he knows Chanyeol doesn’t like it when he’s sad. He doesn’t like it when he cries either, so he doesn’t. He relishes in Minseok’s touches, thinks about Chanyeol’s smile and laughter and warmth, and then he pulls away. He stares into ice blue eyes blinking back at him curiously and he wonders what he would do without him, without the rest of their friends, because there have always been twelve of them since the beginning. They woke up as a group and Kyungsoo adores each one of them so, so much.

“Baekhyun told me Jongdae loves to hide in the mountains,” Kyungsoo murmurs, soft, unsure, because he doesn’t want to talk about Chanyeol right now, not when he’s at his weakest and the earth can break underneath it. “It took him almost a century to find his new hiding spot.”

Almost immediately, Minseok rolls his eyes, scoffing as he grabs Kyungsoo’s hand to lead him around the mountains. “Those two are insufferable. Baekhyun is insufferable.”

Kyungsoo laughs, squeezing Minseok’s hand in gratitude. “Baekhyun is insufferable, but he is also wonderful.”

“Ever since Jongdae has taken to hiding in the mountains, I hear more about it each and every day how beautiful and gorgeous and _hot_ Baekhyun is. I swear, Baekhyun needs to stop pulling Jongdae out of hiding to hide with the humans and they’re ever-changing vocabulary. One time, I heard the snowflakes mutter ‘lit’ and I almost created a snowstorm in my panic. Apparently, it’s a good thing, but I have no idea what it means.”

Kyungsoo can’t stop laughing, wondering what in the world humans are doing nowadays, and he guesses he has to ask Baekhyun about it when he sees him again in a few years, maybe even Lu Han because he _always_ knows what’s going on in the world whether he wants to or not.

“And then there’s this one term–something about yourself? Self? Selkies? But selkies haven’t been mentioned for ages, so I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

 

Humans haven’t been kind to the earth. Every decade, there are worse forms of pollution, worse forms of littering, and more of Jongin’s and Zitao’s creatures becoming extinct. It’s sad to think about, the way it takes its toll on his body as well, but Kyungsoo has come to terms long ago that he can’t do anything about it. He’s known for his strength, the way the earth and life’s vegetation fits into all of it, and Chanyeol had always told him he’s the most persistent out of all of them. He’s the most durable, the most reliable, and Kyungsoo takes pride in it. Chanyeol had said it’s always been a good look for him, “one of the most attractive expressions on you, Kyungsoo,” and Kyungsoo tries to wear it as much as he can around him.

Kyungsoo takes care of the earth where he can. He helps the flowers grow, meets with Junmyeon and Sehun to come up with plans to nourish the planet they were born to cultivate, and he waits. He waits in the forests with the creatures Jongin and Zitao created in the beginning. He waits in the middle of cities where Baekhyun lights it up for all to see. He waits by the sea, where he can feel the ground mold together with earth’s waters to create a seamless habitat for anything and anyone around him. He’s been here since the beginning, along with the rest of the gods of this planet, and he wonders why it’s always Chanyeol who has to pass.

Chanyeol was always destined to die out, to collapse into the ashes only to be reborn later, and Kyungsoo had always asked Lu Han why. “It’s not fair,” Kyungsoo remembers shouting, holding remnants of Chanyeol’s favorite flower in his hand, singed until it’s barely recognizable. “We have an eternity, but Chanyeol doesn’t!”

Lu Han is known for his knowledge, the way he simply knows _everything_ going on with this planet, and Kyungsoo hated it the first time it happened, where Chanyeol had whispered he could feel his life fading away. Kyungsoo could see the flames of life dying in his eyes and “it’s not fair, Han, I just–”

“Chanyeol is the fire of this planet,” Lu Han had murmured to him, gently, slowly pulling him into a hug. It had been so foreign, so incredibly _weird_ during a time when there was barely anything thriving on the planet they were trying to build, that it shook Kyungsoo down to his core, created shakes throughout the planet without his will. “Chanyeol is eternal but he needs to sleep, relax, fade away so he can be reborn again. He needs to burn himself out, so there is balance to this world.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t accept it, even if he understood it. There was a moment in time when Chanyeol had peaked, grown so beautifully Kyungsoo couldn’t ignore it anymore, and after those few centuries, he had started to fade. “But Han,” Kyungsoo had whispered, squeezing his eyes shut, clutching on tighter to Lu Han’s robes. “He–”

“He will be reborn again, Kyungsoo,” Lu Han reassured, softly, gently touching the flower in Kyungsoo’s hand. “When he is, tell him you love him.”

They stood there for days, months, years and Lu Han kept him company while Kyungsoo re-planted the flower, watched as more grew along with it. A certain warmth had filled Kyungsoo then and he talked about it all with Lu Han, about how Chanyeol’s warmth was the first thing he registered in the beginning, how Chanyeol’s smile and his kindness helped bring the softness and hardest parts of the earth to fruition. Kyungsoo had said Chanyeol was the one to help him cultivate this planet the most and he had punched Lu Han when he laughed at that.

“For sixty-one years, all you’ve talked about is Chanyeol. You are just as bad as Jongdae is about Baekhyun.”

And when Chanyeol was reborn, Kyungsoo was the first one to find him, burning in the middle of a forest and creating smoke for all in the immediate area to see. It was dangerous, something Kyungsoo had only seen a few times, but it didn’t harm him. It felt similar to when he first woke up, along with the rest, and he had coaxed Chanyeol awake. He gently cradled his head with his hands, placed a soft kiss on his forehead, and when Chanyeol finally opened his eyes, it was to see confusion swirling with the flames now burning bright within him.

Chanyeol remembered him, all of them, but he couldn’t remember the moments he and Kyungsoo spent together. He couldn’t remember the long nights admiring the stars or the early morning walks through the forests and fields. He couldn’t remember the first moment they held hands, as anything more than friends, and Kyungsoo was devastated. He had teleported to Lu Han and punched him again, out of anger and spite, and Lu Han had reassured him it would only take a few days, “A few more days, Kyungsoo, and it will return to him.”

Kyungsoo hadn’t believed him, but he took it as a sign. He waited days, months, before he came up with a plan. He and Chanyeol gravitated towards each other without a second thought, so Kyungsoo thought he would nurture their relationship like he nurtures the earth. Decades before Chanyeol was to fade again, Kyungsoo was surprised to find him laughing, smiling so wide that he started tearing up, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help the heat flooding his cheeks, thinking Chanyeol really is the cause to all the warmth in his body.

“What have you been doing, Kyungsoo?” he had asked, pulling him in for a hug, and Chanyeol had always been taller, broader. Kyungsoo always melted into him. “Pride is such a wonderful look on you.” He had laughed some more. “I remember it now.”

That was the first time Kyungsoo had fallen in love, again.

 

“One more year, Kyungsoo,” Zitao informs, as they sit on top of a skyscraper to look down into the city. Kyungsoo can’t remember the name of this one, but he guesses it doesn’t matter to him as much, not when he’s too busy counting down the days until Chanyeol’s rebirth. “You’re cute, as a romantic.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. Everyone says that nowadays. “I’m not.”

“You don’t get angry or sad when he passes away now,” Zitao points out, swinging his legs like a child. “You only look forward to wooing him and falling in love all over again.”

Warmth settles in Kyungsoo’s cheeks and love blooms in his heart. “Well,” he mutters, avoiding Zitao’s amused stare. “If you put it like that.”

 

When Kyungsoo feels it, it leads him to Arizona in North America. He finds himself in a field with dead grass and he cringes at the crunchy feeling underneath his feet. This part of the world is consistently dry, needing more water than usual, and he wonders if he can convince Junmyeon to create a raincloud for the next few days when he feels the pull again. It tugs him in the opposite direction from where he was facing, towards another forest, and Kyungsoo rushes towards it when he can see the first few wisps of smoke escaping the treetops.

There aren’t as many trees here, allowing him to see clearly between all the trunks, and it doesn’t take him long to find Chanyeol in the midst of it. He’s lying on the ground, with fire dancing all around him, and Kyungsoo moves forward carefully, dancing and dodging all the flames even if they can’t actually hurt him.

Chanyeol is still as beautiful since the last time he saw him. His hair is a dull red, only to grow in vibrancy before turning ashy grey again, and Kyungsoo smiles as he kneels next to him. He gently cradles his head with his hands, like he always does, and leaves a gentle kiss on his forehead. It’s enough to stir Chanyeol awake, to blink his vision into focus when he opens his eyes, and Kyungsoo feels the warmth surround him again, different from the fire dancing around him. “Hey, Chanyeol,” he murmurs, watching as Chanyeol searches his eyes, his face, for any indication of what they are.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol greets, reaching up to cover one hand with his on his cheek. It’s warm, loving, and Kyungsoo misses this. “Was I gone?” he asks, tilting his head back to look around them.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo answers, about to pull away so Chanyeol can sit up, but Chanyeol keeps him in place, hand tightening on his own.

“How long?”

“Almost eight centuries.”

Chanyeol looks back to him then. They’re so close. “That’s a long time,” he murmurs and he’s searching again, wondering. Kyungsoo wonders what for. “I made you wait.”

Kyungsoo freezes. Chanyeol doesn’t normally remember anything from their past for the first few months after he wakes up. He normally takes the chance to visit each of their friends once, relishing in the water and snow and grassy fields. Kyungsoo normally tries to court him with flowers and presents and affection and this is all different. “What,” Kyungsoo begins to ask, but he stops himself short, watching as Chanyeol gently guides the hand he’s holding to his lips to leave a soft kiss on his palm. “Chanyeol–”

“I bargained a few centuries to keep my memories this time,” he explains and Kyungsoo can feel Chanyeol’s lips twitch into a smile against his palm. “I didn’t expect the Almighty One to add four centuries to my bill for it.”

Kyungsoo is speechless. He gapes at him, unsure of what to even say, and he does the only thing he can think of. He manhandles Chanyeol into a headlock.

“Wait, wait!” Chanyeol screeches, flailing everywhere and trying to pat Kyungsoo’s forearm in defeat repeatedly. “Kyungsoo!”

“I already made plans to woo you and everything!” Kyungsoo shouts back, gasping when Chanyeol topples them over and he lands back on the ground hard. “You ruined it!”

“ _That’s_ what you’re upset about?!” Chanyeol yelps and Kyungsoo hisses when one of the dancing flames burns him on the arm. “Kyungsoo, stop!”

With a few more frantic pats, Kyungsoo loosens his grip. He frowns when Chanyeol simply relaxes on top of him, breathing heavily, and he grunts as he shoves him off of him. “You’re heavy,” he simply states, taking the chance to stand up and glare down at him. Underneath him like this, he feels stronger, has more power than the so-called “Phoenix” of their group. It helps him feel more in control of the situation, but then Chanyeol stands. He stands to his full height and Kyungsoo has to look up at him and he’s missed this.

“How about we make a deal?” Chanyeol proposes, coughing, before he’s reaching out to gently touch Kyungsoo’s cheek, where he can feel Chanyeol’s heat instantly permeate his body. His smile his soft, the flames in his eyes flickering gently like the embers of a campfire, and Chanyeol still loves him, even after all these years. “I will feign partial amnesia for you and in return, you woo me like you’ve planned to do.”

Kyungsoo stares at him, the way his mouth moves around his words, and he shakes his head at him in disbelief. “You know deals between gods have always gone awry.”

It takes a minute, but then Chanyeol groans, releasing a blast of fire into the sky in his frustration. “Jongdae still hasn’t told him he loves him yet? It’s been _millennia_. How is that even possible?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t know. He doesn’t really _care_ to know, especially right now, because Chanyeol is living and breathing in front of him and he’s warm and kind and loving to any and everyone around him. He doesn’t offer Chanyeol an answer. He simply stares at him, wonders how long he’ll be around this time, and he frowns when Chanyeol finally looks to him again.

The flames in Chanyeol’s eyes dance in amusement and it only makes Kyungsoo frown harder. “What?” Chanyeol asks, laughing, before his fleeting touches along Kyungsoo’s cheek grow in pressure, until he’s gently threading fingers through the hair at the base of his neck to cradle his head. He pulls him, slightly, and Kyungsoo has always loved this push and pull. Chanyeol will pull and Kyungsoo would push and–

“It’s been eight centuries,” Kyungsoo murmurs, lips only centimeters apart, but there’s a challenge in Chanyeol’s eyes, most likely reflecting his own. “If you remember, then kiss me already.”

Chanyeol chuckles, deep, dark, amused, “Always so pushy,” but then he tugs him the rest of the way. He wraps an arm around Kyungsoo’s waist, envelops him in his warmth entirely, and Kyungsoo groans into the kiss. Everything is too warm too fast and he can’t help threading his fingers in Chanyeol’s hair, trying to keep himself as close to him as possible. He wants to drown in Chanyeol’s fire until he breathes nothing but the ashes left behind.

When they part, Kyungsoo’s lips tingle, like they do every time they kiss, and he pushes his way into Chanyeol’s chest to hide the smile growing on his lips. “I’ve missed you,” he mutters, feeling Chanyeol flinch at the vibrations against him.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“I’m still going to woo you. I created this entire garden for you and everything.”

Chanyeol laughs, loud, incredulous, filling Kyungsoo up with adoration and affection and love that the planet will drown in. “Then I will feign surprise for you, Kyungsoo.”

Since the beginning of time, Kyungsoo has only ever really known Chanyeol and his warmth. He was the one to coax him awake, _to live_ , and Kyungsoo will always be thankful for him. “I also bargained a secret sanctuary for Jongin and Zitao each if they created a soft, furry creature you’d like,” he murmurs, feeling Chanyeol vibrate in excitement against him. “I was going to wait a century before showing you, to allow it to grow and reproduce and acclimate, but I guess I can show you within the month.”

“I can’t believe you’re still such a tease.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “Would you really have it any other way?” And until the end of time when they simply cease to exist, he hopes to only ever really know Chanyeol and his never-ending warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> \+ one day, jongdae and baekhyun will (hopefully) have their happy ending.  
> \+ bonus; kyungsoo actually russian roulettes who he wants to spend time with whenever chanyeol is gone. (unless he specifically seeks out minseok or jongdae.)  
> \+ bonus 2.0; jongin and zitao whine every time kyungsoo personally visits them and gives them ideas on what creatures chanyeol would like.  
> \+ bonus 3.0; idk why kyungsoo fights it, he’s completely obvious and so in love with chanyeol everyone coos about it.  
> happy chansooweek, everyone! ([twitter](twitter.com/xo_thefirst))


End file.
